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Chicken sausage is an overlooked yet delicious meat that is lean, easy to cook, and flavorful! This hearty soup is packed with veggies while also being filling due to the chicken sausage and beans. The creamy poached egg adds beautiful color and another layer of flavor. It can easily be omitted if poaching eggs isn’t in your skill set! This recipe makes about 8 bowls.

Warm olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and carrots, seasoning with salt & pepper. Cook until onion is soft & translucent. Add garlic and sauté for a few more minutes, until fragrant.

Add broth/water with bouillon to deglaze and get brown bits off the bottom of pan. Add tomatoes, rinsed beans, sliced sausage, seasoning, pepper flakes, and salt/pepper. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in chopped kale. Cook for additional 5 minutes until kale is bright green and wilted. Keep soup warm until eggs are cooked.

Meanwhile, fill a small sauce pan with water. Add 1 tsp vinegar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer. Crack egg into a small heat-safe dish. Take a spoon and stir water briskly so it swirls. Pour egg into swirling water and cover with lid. Let cook ~3 minutes and gently remove to a paper towel to drain. (Swirling water keeps egg compact and stops it from “growing legs.”)

Taste and adjust seasoning in soup if needed. Ladle into individual bowls and place poached egg on top. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

The weather is starting to change as we get in the full-swing of fall. While we may not like the lower temps, we can all agree that it’s great for soups! This was our first soup of the season, and boy was it a good one. The color was gorgeous and it made the whole house smell like a cozy cottage. We served it alongside cheese melted onto buttered Cottleston Italian bread and topped with a bit of garlic powder, perfect for dipping. You could easily swap in fresh spinach or chicken shredded from a store-bought rotisserie.

Italian Chicken Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups broth/water with bouillon

2 raw chicken breasts

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp basil

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste/concentrate

5 oz spinach (half frozen brick)

20 oz fresh refrigerated tortellini

½ cup heavy cream

Instruction:

Warm olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft. Add garlic and sauté for a few more minutes, until fragrant.

Add broth/water with bouillon to deglaze and get brown bits off the bottom of pan. Add whole raw chicken breasts and seasonings. Bring to simmer.

Nothing beats a meal showcasing fresh summer vegetables and lots of cheese! Try this eggplant parmesan bake for an interesting meat-free meal. I like to serve the bake with a side salad and spaghetti tossed in oil and balsamic vinegar. You can easily use canned sauce, homemade sauce, or a mix between the two, like this recipe does.

Peel and slice eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and layer into a colander, covering directly on top with plastic wrap. Place a heavy bowl or cans on top of plastic wrap. Let sit in sink for 45 minutes to pull out bitter liquid. Uncover and rinse with cold water.

Preheat oven to 400º. In a small bowl, mix 1 cup bread crumbs with 1 tbsp parmesan cheese. In a separate bowl, crack egg and lightly whisk. One by one, dunk eggplant slices into egg, coat in bread crumb mixture, and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip slices, and bake for another 5 minutes. Let cool.

While eggplant is baking, add chopped tomatoes, minced onion, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil, chopped oregano, minced garlic, and cayenne pepper to a small sauce pan. Cook on medium-low until heated through, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add a little water or stock.

When eggplant and sauce are ready, reduce oven heat to 350º. Pour olive oil into a small casserole dish and swish around until surface is covered. Put about a 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with a single layer of eggplant slices. Cover with a sprinkle of each cheese (Italian cheese mix, fresh mozzarella, and remaining parmesan). Continue sauce-eggplant-cheese layering until it’s all used up. Sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add all ingredients to the crockpot besides the beans. Cook on high until heated through (about 1 hour), stirring every 20 minutes or so. Stir in beans and let cook for about 20 more minutes. Turn to low/warm before serving. Best served with tortilla chips and Day of the Dead Salsa.

DIRECTIONS:In a bowl, soak the bread in 1/2 – 1 cup of water for 10 min. Squeeze out, by hand, as much water as possible from the bread.

In a food processor (a Vitamix purees everything quickly and like a dream!) puree all the chopped vegetables. Add the cumin, garlic, the soaked bread, sherry vinegar, olive oil and 2 Tbsp cold water. Puree in the food processor until the mixture is entirely pureed and smooth. Add more cold water if needed to get the right consistency; it should be slightly thick but should pour easily. Add salt to taste (start with 1-2 tsp).

Refrigerate at least 2 hours and re-taste for salt.

Serve chilled with garnish of chopped cucumber, cracked peppercorns, and/or croutons as desired. You can also serve with crostini.